Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Johnson Farm

Realized we really haven't posted much about grandpa Johnson's farm, for some reason. Just sort of slipped by us somehow!
The Johnson farm holds a very special place in the history of the Church -- much of it good, some of it not so good.

We travel to the Johnson home once each week to clean, repair help maintain the inside and also prune, weed, plant flowers, etc. on the outside. It is something we quite enjoy and look forward to each week.

Grandpa Johnson was one of the most well-to-do (if not the most well-to-do) farmers in the entire area. And he was quick to share when it seemed needed.

And it was at this home that more recorded revelations were received than in any other single place - at least until the saints reached the Salt Lake Valley. Those revelations were received during the year that Joseph and Emma lived here the Johnsons (Sept. 1831 to Sept. 1832).

The inside picture if of the kitchen and is quite large, especially for that time. The curious finish around the fireplace and in other areas of the room, is . . . interesting. But it is apparently how the Johnson's had it when they lived there. If you look closely at the open closet door, you can see that same painted finish. It is from the inside of that and other closets, that we know what much of the house was originally like. The insides of the closets were apparently left unaltered over the years.

Interestingly, we are told that taxes were at least partly accessed based on the number of closets a home had. The Johnson home was not lacking in closets.

They also had a rather nice and separate dining room - something not often found in homes of the time. Another indication of their success as farmers.

We are headed there again tomorrow morning (Wednesday) to make certain things are in good order.